Hands to Heal
by Kienova
Summary: He hates seeing her in pain - even when it is something normal.


The sight of her curled on the couch, skin pale and eyes clenched shut, sent a bolt of worry through him as he entered the room. They had been in the lab all day and she had seemed fine, a bit tired, but nothing that he had been worried about considering how many things they constantly had going on. It didn't stop him from worrying however; it had only been a few weeks since she had been ill from the Chitauri virus, what if she was having a delayed reaction to that or the antiserum? Heart pounding in his ears he stumbled into the room, a million scenarios, each one worse than the next, spinning through his mind. He didn't know what he was going to do if she was sick - if something else could happen to her that would take her away from him.

"Jemma, are you alright?" Fitz queried, crossing the floor of the common area to crouch down at her side by the sofa, his hands fidgeting in his lap as he fought the urge to push her hair out of her face.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, wincing as she curled tighter around herself. Fitz frowned, unable to stop himself from stroking a hand over her cheek then, her eyes flickering open at the contact.

"Jemma," he said again, drawing her attention up to his face. "If there's something wrong, please, tell me. I want to help." She let out a slight laugh tainted with a whimper before regarding him with a half smile.

"Nothing is wrong Fitz, I promise. This… pain is normal. It happens when I've been under a lot of stress." She assured him. "It's a little worse than most months but I'll be fine." Fitz looked at her for a moment before realisation spread over his face, a sad smile crossing his features even as a blush stained his cheeks at her sharing such personal information with him.

"Oh," he said, stroking her hair. He wondered how he had never seen her in such a state in the span of their friendship. If it was normal for her to be in agony once a month, how had he never noticed it before? His only consolation was that she seemed unperturbed by her own condition, even as she cringed. "Is there anything I can do? Do you need chocolate or some ibuprofen?" She shook her head, a groan slipping out of her as a particularly rough cramp shot through her abdomen.

"I've already taken some. It just… it hurts." Jemma's words were hissed out as she tried to press her hand to her stomach, grimacing at the cool temperature. Fitz watched her for a split second before he climbed onto the sofa, curling up behind her. "What are you-"

"Let me try and help," he whispered against her ear, sliding his hand underneath hers, his broad, warm palm tight against the fabric of her shirt, sinking into the skin beneath. Jemma let out a shuddering breath, her fingers clenching against his for a moment before she relaxed. "Is it always this bad?"

"No," she responded. "Stress can make it worse. Or changes in hormones. The first few when I was a girl were bad. The scoliosis made it nearly unbearable at times. I even passed out once." Her period had started that morning but the cramping hadn't gotten bad until earlier in the evening, her stomach aching with a vengeance throughout her dinner until she had to give up, the desire to curl into a ball until the pain stopped winning out over her hunger. She knew that the last month had taken its toll, her body rebelling in the only way it knew how after such rampant stress and emotional turmoil.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, tracing along them hem of her shirt. She let herself drift in the sensation, Fitz's palm and fingers pressing into her as he rubbed circles into her belly, the heat of his torso radiating into her spine where he lay against her, easing the ache in her back.

They stayed like that for a while, Fitz leaning up on his elbow to see that her eyes had closed again but without pain on her features, her posture finally losing some of its rigidity. Smiling softly, he went to move his hand, only to have her fingers tighten against his, holding him in place.

"Please don't," she said, voice groggy as she shifted his hand around, his palm suddenly resting against the bare skin of her stomach instead of the cotton of her shirt. "This is the first time since dinner that it's stopped hurting." Fitz nodded against her shoulder, lowering himself back down to the couch as his hand resumed its gentle circles.

"I'll stay as long as you want me to," he told her, breath ruffling her hair as he pressed a chaste kiss to her temple. She sighed, pushing her back more firmly to his chest as she snuggled down into the couch cushions.

"You're like a living hot water bottle," Jemma mumbled, drifting to sleep a few heartbeats later. Fitz nuzzled into her hair, arm tightening around her waist even as he continued his ministrations to soothe the ache in her stomach.

When Skye came into the room an hour later, a bag from the drugstore in her hand, she stopped dead, taking in the sight before her. Both scientists were asleep, Fitz's hand still against the bare skin of Jemma's stomach, her shirt rucked up and his pinky disappearing into the waistband of her sweatpants. Biting her lip, Skye grabbed her phone, snapping a few pictures while she tried to stifle her giggles. Quietly, she took the bottle of midol and the chocolate bar she had gotten from the drugstore and placed them on the table before retreating to her own bunk, a smile plastered on her face.

She wondered if they'd be able to deny their feelings for one another much longer. It wasn't every day a guy would be that caring about someone's period cramps.

"If you don't admit you love him Jemma, I'm going to try and steal him away from you." Skye muttered with a smirk, closing her door on the scene in the common room.


End file.
